Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I've been watching with interest what appears to be a Conservative about-face on China, so I'm going to put this to our guest, Mr. Nagy, and then ask for his response.
Former prime minister Stephen Harper's Conservative government signed an agreement between the Government of Canada and the Government of the People's Republic of China for the promotion and reciprocal protection of investments, commonly known as FIPA on September 9, 2012. They didn't even release the full text to the public. They ratified the agreement two years later, despite warnings from experts in labour and from human rights and environmental advocates that the agreement was detrimental to Canada's interests. Specifically, article 11 of the FIPA states that if Chinese firms in Canada suffer losses “owing to war, a state of national emergency, insurrection, riot or other similar events”, they can sue the Canadian government for compensation.
I wonder if you can comment on what impacts FIPA might have on a shift in the Canadian policy of procurement as it relates to China.